High-resolution x-ray diffraction investigations of He-implanted GaAs

The isolation of devices via ion implantation is one of the standard proced ures in III-V processing, but so far little information is available concer ning the degree of damage generated in regions near devices before and afte r annealing steps. We report on He implantation with typical ion dose and e nergy ranges into n-GaAs epilayers using high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) for characterization. From analysis of rocking curves it is found t hat up to doses of 10(14) cm(-2) in the ion energy range of 25-370 keV a ra pid thermal annealing treatment at 400 degreesC is sufficient to remove lat tice distortions observed after implantation. The depth of the damaged regi on estimated by HRXRD is compared to transport of ions in matter calculatio ns and secondary-ion mass spectroscopy measurements.